Anja Borck walks the heritage trail a second time

The King’s Hall Building, built in 1933, is a place that you could easily overlook. Disappointingly, it does not show any traces of the explosion from 1948 on the outside. The severe grit pattern of the façade displays very clearly the construction method which may also explain why an explosion did not damage the structure. The strong reinforced concrete frame structure would have prevented the spread of fire and the windows blew out to release the pressure of the explosion.

With a steep double stair entrance, the building is less inviting than one with direct street access. The precisely cut sandstone of this 1934 building was a conservative choice and added prestige to the mansion. The Canadian Military put clearly some distance between their organization and the activities on the street. A bit of a strange perspective for a radio station.

Quite different to the two previous buildings, 1425 René-Lévesque West uses brick at the exterior. Here, the connection to radio history is what makes this building from 1930 outstanding, not its physical appearance. The hotel offered many small spaces and some larger halls, serving the needs of the CBC radio studios well.

I did not expect to see the Bell Telephone Company of Canada, later part of Northern Electric building in the state that I found it today. Alexander Graham Bell produced telephones here for the Canadian market in the late 19th century. Emile Berliner started his Canadian gramophone and recording production on the third floor, giving birth to this country's music industry. Now, all that is left is the front façade. Built before 1890 and modified in 1897, Northern Electric moved to a new location on Guy Street in 1906. A shoe manufactory took over the place.

More pleasant was to venture into the next Northern Electric place. You need to go all around the spread-out complex to the south side to find a small entrance to a vast courtyard. The atmosphere of busy early 20th century factory production seems to hang still in the air. At a nervous pace, the factory grew constantly to keep up with the demand for telephone and radio parts. And still, always more space was needed.

Apparently, the largest brick building in North America, this colossal structure with a footprint of 21 562 square meters (232 091 sq/ft) survived the conversion from factory to multi-purpose office building relatively intact. On weekdays, do not miss going inside to experience its enormous volume. The north façade once had three sheds covering tracks to allow train access for the large volumes of shipments.

Also, the Berliner Gramophone Company enjoyed having its own train tracks serving the property, in this case, one track was sufficient. Working here almost every day makes me forget that it is also impressively large and orientation can be confusing. From the corner of St. Antoine and Lacasse street, you see the 1920 part of the complex. While brick is used, the core is a visible concrete frame. Do not miss checking out the Musée des ondes Emile Berliner. You will add an hour or a bit more to your tour, but you will not regret the visit.